


When All We Have Is...

by SansRene_KantGaster



Series: The Unified Theory Papers [5]
Category: Undertale
Genre: Alternate Universe, Spinoff, Visiontale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:55:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23442826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SansRene_KantGaster/pseuds/SansRene_KantGaster
Summary: It's hard to explain what this story is in one sentence, so all I'll say is that it takes place after Visiontale's ending. Spoilers for chapter 41 onward of Visiontale.
Series: The Unified Theory Papers [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1176101
Kudos: 1





	When All We Have Is...

**Author's Note:**

> Beware of formatting weirdness.
> 
> If you have any nagging feelings of weirdness, or want to know why I wrote this, read the endnotes.

SumMation  
Today at 6:00 PM  
(insert image of Sans's palms raised to the camera)  
Asgore?

AsgoreRousseauDreemor02  
Today at 6:001PM  
(insert picture of Asgore's palms raised to the camera) Hello, Judge Sans.

SumMation  
Today at 6:01 PM  
May I speak with you?

ARG  
Today at 6:02 PM  
You are not speaking to me. You are sending me messages. But if you want to speak to me, I am available to talk to you.

I am always available to talk to you.

SumMation  
Today at 6:03 PM  
Online, you need not "speak" to... speak. It is implied.

ARG  
Today at 6:04 PM  
How so? You are not talking to me, so you can't ask me if you can talk to me.

SumMation  
Today at 6:05 PM  
. . .  
Fair point.  
May I call you, then?

ARG  
Today at 6:04 PM  
Again: I am always available if you wan to talk with me. That's one of the few things the Inertia Society hasn't criticized me for. They have never criticized me for spending time with my

They have never criticized me for the time I spent with my subjects, before I resigned.

SumMation  
Today at 6:05 PM  
I ask, because you posted a picture of yourself making dinner.

Have you done so?

ARG  
Today at 6:06 PM  
I am trying out a new recipe for a pie. According to

According to Toriel, it is foolproof. Even Pauline

I am sorry.

What I meant to say was, even Shulk can't, as she said, "fork it up".

Obviously, she did not say "fork".

SumMation  
Today at 6:07 PM  
... ... ...  
If you insist.

(SumMation started a call. Today at 6:07 PM)

(Sans raises his palms to face the camera.)

*"Valar morghuulis."*

(Asgore bows. He straightens, only to kneel, head bent low. Sans waits for him to stand. He doesn't.)

*"You may rise, Asgore."*

(Asgore obeys. After he does, he also raises his palms to face the camera.)

"Valar dohaaeris."

*"Asgore?"*

"Judge Sans?"

*"Asgore?

*"I did not see most of what you just did. *"Where? Did you put? Your camera?"*

"Why do you ask?"

*"I can only see your...

*"WAIT.

*"What AM I looking at?

(sigh) *"I suppose it matters not, so long as I can HEAR you."*

"I am sorry that my... setup... isn't to your standards. Alphys--

"... I did it again, didn't I?"

*"..."*

"LUCCA--will be coming by in a couple days, to check on my...

"On my Undernet connection. And to have dinner."

*"... (nods)"*

"Am I allowed to ask why you want to talk to me?"

*"Why do you assume--"*

"Becuase _I_ am the one who is always calling . Although you have asked me for my council every day since the year began, I...

"I..."

(Asgore seems to compose himself before continuing, but it's obvious that he won't stay that way for long.)

"May I--"

*" **ASGORE**.

*"You needn't ask.

*"Your efforts to learn to use Discord are proof enough you respect me.

*"Now **PLEASE** : ask what you wished to ask."*

"... (sits up in chair?)"

"Judge Sans?

"Why are you calling me , out of _ALL_ times? Don't you have--

"No. You _ALWAYS_ have something planned. You told everyone you would spend this next week preparing for Giftmas.

"To show Shulk the Epoch for the first time."

*"... (nods)"*

"Then why aren't you _DOING_ that right now?

"What could be so important that you would call me during dinnertime? For you _AND_ I?"

*"Asriel.

*"Asriel performed a very brave act today."*

"Wait. If I remember correctly you call my son Magus."*

*"Correct... except he did not answer to that name when I asked why he wished to speak with me.

*"He only answered to his _TRUE_ name."*

"... (nods)

"Oh.

"So...

"It must have been serious, then?"

*"Mmm."*

"Am I allowed to--

"No.

"If I was not allowed to know what happened, then you wouldn't have called me."

*"..."*

"In that case, then what did he do?"

*"He **ADVISED** me, Asgore."*

**"... (tenses)"**

***"The problem he made known to me...**

***"No one else had done so before."***

**"... (tenses)**

**"What did he say, Sir?"**

***"He asked what I planned to do, if I was not most determined, post-Barrier break.**

***"Not because my soul had weakened, but because a human had **SURPASSED** me."***

**"(gasps)"**

**"... (sighs)**

**"I was afraid you would **** ** me ab*** th**--"**

***" **ASGORE **?******

*******"What did you say?"*** ** **

******"(makes clearing throat sound) Sorry. I said I was **raid you **ld ca** me **out--"** ** **

********_*"ASGORE!_ ** ** ** **

********_*"WHERE! IS YOUR MICROPHONE!?"*_ ** ** ** **

******"(looking around his bedroom) I-i-it's... here."** ** **

******(He moves his camera until it focuses on him touching a headset mic on the table in front of him.)** ** **

******_***"WHY ARE YOU NOT WEARING IT!?"*** _ ** ** **

******"B-b-because...** ** **

******"Because when I wore it during my call with Lucca, she told me that I was talking too loudly, because it was too close to me. And now that I understand her magical...** ** **

******"Ehm...** ** **

******"Handicap, more, I know WHY she thought that. None of my equipment is...** ** **

******"Attuned... to me yet, because no one has had time to check on it."** ** **

*******"(annoyed sigh) I suppose.** ** **

*******"But Asgore?** ** **

*******"Why were you afraid to speak of this?"*** ** **

******"... ... ... (sigh) Because when he told me he would speak with you, he was the most serious I've ever seen him. He made it seem like..."** ** **

******(Asgore covers his face with his hands for several seconds, before lowering them again.)** ** **

******"Like he was putting himself in danger by speaking with you.** ** **

******"Like if he mispoke, he would not only offend you, but..."** ** **

******(Asgore's eyes stray to the Masamune, gleaming in front of Sans, nested inside his rib cage and pelvis.)** ** **

*******"(nods)** ** **

*******"He did not tell you he wished to speak with me?"*** ** **

******"(shakes head) He said he knew you would tell me.** ** **

******"Which, now that I think about it, has to be the reason you're calling.** ** **

******"When he asked you what you would do, what did you say?"** ** **

*******"... ... He did not ask for an answer.** ** **

*******"Rather, he explained this problem, and its solution.** ** **

*******"(laughs) He even--"*** ** **

******(Sans covers his camera with his hand. When he uncovers it again, a piece of paper hovers in front of him, facing Asgore.)** ** **

*******"--a flowchart, and set of sylogisms."*** ** **

******(Asgore gapes at the diagram? diagrams?)** ** **

******"Is...** ** **

******"I am sorry, Judge Sans, but I cannot read this. What language is this written in? It almost looks like Latin, but..."** ** **

******(He slumps a little in his seat, closing his eyes.)** ** **

*******"He learned logical notation: _JUST_ to present his idea."*** ** **

******(Sans smiles fondly. Asgore opens his eyes, but closes them again, when he sees that Asriel's flowchart is still there.)** ** **

******"Is there any way you could simplify it for me? As interested as I am, there is too much material to read here."** ** **

******(Sans covers the camera again. When he uncovers it, the paper is gone.)** ** **

*******"TLDR: Asriel realized that once the Barrier broke, there may be a human on the surface more determined than me.** ** **

*******"Who they were matters not.** ** **

*******"If someone else was most determined, Zealdia would be at their mercy: just as we were at Frisk's mercy, in the other timelines."*** ** **

******"... (slow nod) Go on...?"** ** **

*******"To establish ourselves in the world, we must prove ourselves, via a method _WE _have, that ** _NO ONE ELSE_** has.__** ** **

******__*"We cannot use magic, for when the Barrier breaks, humans will regain it._ _ ** ** **

******__*"at least, those who were not..._ _ ** ** **

******__*" _COMPELLED_... into cementing."*_ _ ** ** **

******__(They both nod silently.)_ _ ** ** **

******__*"Humans shall steal our technology. And although we have vast research in many fields, we lack the means to apply it at scale._ _ ** ** **

******__*"We would lack enough individuals to provide their expertise."*_ _ ** ** **

******__(Asgore nods, more confidently this time.)_ _ ** ** **

******__"He... really thought this through."_ _ ** ** **

******__(Sans nods.)_ _ ** ** **

******__*"He ended with this._ _ ** ** **

******__*"If it came to it, even our military may as well not exist. The Royal Guard--the Melchion Guard..._ _ ** ** **

******__*"Any human military force would overwhelm them with ease._ _ ** ** **

******__*"Just as humans' intent to harm us weakened us during the War, it would do so here."*_ _ ** ** **

******__(Asgore sits in thought for several seconds.)_ _ ** ** **

******__"If Zealdia cannot harness its citizens' magic, or their knowledge, or their research, _OR_ its military, then how _WILL!_ we make our own way on the surface?_ _ ** ** **

******__"How will we ensure that we will be treated with the respect we deserve, and not as..._ _ ** ** **

******__"(voice cracking) And not as less than human?"_ _ ** ** **

******__*..."*_ _ ** ** **

******__(At first, Sans turns away slightly, but he changes his mind. He shakes in time with Asgore's words.)_ _ ** ** **

******__"There are already humans treated this way. And humans in power who would be more than eager to use their power to mistreat us. _AND_ to justify their behavior as necessary."_ _ ** ** **

******__(Asgore cries, light blue, orange, and green tears falling onto the tabletop.)_ _ ** ** **

******__"What do _WE_ have that _THEY_ don't?_ _ ** ** **

******__"Accounting for current statistics, we would be one of the smallest countries in the world, if you ignore micronations, or those not recognized by the United Nations._ _ ** ** **

******__"The entire population of Zealdia could fit in a sports stadium, with thousands of seats to spare!_ _ ** ** **

******__"And..."_ _ ** ** **

******__(He hiccups.)_ _ ** ** **

******__"And no one will listen to us, because we do not use a system of government that is recognized and respected anymore. Regardless of what you think of it, so many humans on the surface will dismiss us, just because we are a monarchy._ _ ** ** **

******__"And as of the time you took power? An _AUTOCRACY_! at that._ _ ** ** **

******__"Not even your decades--_ _ ** ** **

******__"NO._ _ ** ** **

******__"However many years you spent in the resets, and observing the timelines..._ _ ** ** **

******__"Not even _THAT_ would convince them!"_ _ ** ** **

******__(Sans's eyes begin glowing, each one flickering between dark blue, yellow, and red.)_ _ ** ** **

******__"And worst of all, they would see us as a society with so little regard for human life that they would dare to experiment with the human soul and create it in a lab!"_ _ ** ** **

******__(Sans sits up straighter. His camera begins shaking slightly.)_ _ ** ** **

******__"What do _WE_ have that _THEY_ do not?_ _ ** ** **

******__" _AND_ that they would respect?_ _ ** ** **

******__(Asgore looks at Sans, desperately, but shrinks away. Sans's eye sockets glow brightly in his cemented colors. The camera floats at his shoulder. The flowchart appears again, facing Asgore. With his left hand, he gestures to the flowchart again: near the bottom, Asriel drew the eye symbol Sans is wearing on his pendant around his neck. As Sans answers, Asgore shudders with each word, and Asgore's camera shakes.)_ _ ** ** **

******__*"You answered your own question._ _ ** ** **

******__*"What _we_ have that _THEY_ lack..._ _ ** ** **

******__*"Is the power to create human souls..._ _ ** ** **

******__*"And someone to wield them."*_ _ ** ** **

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story because I wanted to keep myself fresh, while waiting for my new laptop. As of the time of writing this story, I'm waiting for my new laptop to arrive, and will be returning the laptop I'm using now in a few days. Since I couldn't commit to this laptop, I didn't save anything on it. I wrote this fanfic in a Gmail draft. When the fic reached a certain length, it stopped allowing me to write anything else in it. That, and my screen reader (it's not JAWS--it's a free one called NVDA) wouldn't read text properly. Originally, I had lots more story planned, but I couldn't include it.
> 
> I also tried to write this fic in as little time as possible. In total, it took me four nights to complete it: from conception to posting it online for the first time. I forced myself to do this so I wouldn't agonize over details. As a result, the writing isn't as polished as I would've liked. This is unfortunate, because these two characters: Asgore and Zealdian Sans, are difficult to write.
> 
> the title comes from the TV Tropes page called When All You Have is a Hammer.
> 
> Sans's Discord username is a play on the word "summation", because the summation of something refers to the totality of that thing: everything that led up to that current point added together. "Sum" is also used in the phrase "cogito, ergo sum", which means "I think, therefore I am" in Latin.
> 
> "Valar morghuulis" and "Valar dohaaeris" are phrases in High Valyrian, one of the fictional languages created for Game of Thrones. Respectively, they mean "All men must die" and "All men must serve". The "u" in the former, and the "a" in the latter, are supposed to have macrons over them, but my screen reader isn't reading them properly right now, so I wrote them in the way Duolingo accepts it: writing the vowel with the macron over it twice.
> 
> This story came from a suggestion from a friend I made on Discord. I asked her for ideas, and along the way, I joked about Discord being shitty. She said that a story about that might be cathartic... so I made Discord the setting of the story.
> 
> The same Discord friend who helped me conceive of this idea, also helped me conceive of the idea of the Inertia Society administering human souls to Sans. When I realized that Sans might not be most determined when the Barrier broke...
> 
> ... YEAH.
> 
> That didn't feel good at all.
> 
> Originally, the second half? of the story was gonna be about Asgore explaining why Asriel wanted to talk to Asgore before talking to Sans. Asriel told Asgore that he was scared to talk to Sans, because he knew that Sans wouldn't like this idea, because of his history in the Determination Study.
> 
> At least, he THOUGHT Sans wouldn't like this idea.
> 
> He was right.
> 
> What he was WRONG about... was that Sans agreed with it. The whole process/existential crisis Asgore went through, thinking through possibilities for Zealdia's future on the surface... THAT is the process I went through. I had to create his reaction from wholecloth, since I didn't have much material to go off of from Undertale itself. I mostly based Asgore's reactions in this story off of his behavior in the epilogue to the True Pacifist ending, after Frisk wakes up after fighting Asriel.
> 
> As for WHY Asriel is advising Sans, and why Asgore is advising Sans, and why I'm using utensils as swearwords, and why Sans and Asgore used phrases from Game of Thrones as part of their greeting, and why Sans referenced philosophy in his Discord username?
> 
> Those questions, alongside any other nagging feelings of weirdness you might have had while reading, will be answered and addressed.
> 
> Eventually.
> 
> I will DEFINITELY write a story about the origin of Sans's Discord username. THAT, and a story about the soul administration process. I realized that the latter would be " _VERY... VERY... VEEERY... INTERESTING_ " for everyone involved... and even for those who would NOT be involved.


End file.
